Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Onesti

For one person, living is cheaper in Onesti: $1,042 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Onesti
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Onesti Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Onesti

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,042

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Onesti

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Lisbon and in Onesti actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $1,042 in Onesti.

Lisbon $2,206
Onesti $1,042

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,597 in Onesti.

Lisbon $3,276
Onesti $1,597

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,153 in Onesti.

Lisbon $4,346
Onesti $2,153

Living in Lisbon is roughly 112% more expensive than in Onesti, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Onesti is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.00

$10.35 RON 49.20

62.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.3

$41.83 RON 199

45.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.77

$7.13 RON 33.88

54.00%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$2.97 RON 14.11

2.69%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 €2.03

$2.20 RON 10.47

3.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$1.78 RON 8.45

-5.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$3.16 RON 15.03

8.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$3.72 RON 17.69

5.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.04 RON 4.92

10.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.34 RON 6.38

41.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.92 RON 9.14

-21.87%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$2.94 RON 13.96

40.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.57

$7.46 RON 35.46

74.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.16

$6.56 RON 31.18

22.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.92

$10.11 RON 48.07

76.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.03 RON 4.90

120.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.45 RON 6.89

20.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.68 RON 8.00

8.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$2.06 RON 9.81

30.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$0.80 RON 3.80

121.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$0.82 RON 3.89

136.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.12 RON 5.32

30.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.61 RON 2.88

24.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.92

$6.32 RON 30.06

5.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.02

$5.34 RON 25.38

5.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.34 RON 6.35

-3.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$2.14 RON 10.15

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$0.70 RON 3.30

228.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.17

$22.70 RON 108

93.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.54

$0.80 RON 3.81

397.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.88 RON 4.16

-27.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.84

$8.57 RON 40.74

120.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.43 RON 6.81

59.44%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$33.4K €29.7K

$28.5K RON 135.6K

16.99%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$38.5K €34.3K

$26.1K RON 124.1K

47.51%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$158 €141

$186 RON 882

-14.75%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$17.54 €15.61

$7.43 RON 35.31

136.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.75

$8.70 RON 41.34

258.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.73

$36.79 RON 175

21.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.89

$20.40 RON 97.0

-6.96%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.52

$8.50 RON 40.41

12.71%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$674 €599

$389 RON 1,848

73.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$7,819 RON 37.2K

139.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.9

$37.62 RON 179

171.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.85

$39.20 RON 186

17.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.0

$94.7 RON 450

7.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$91.9 RON 437

32.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,460

$406 RON 1,931

303.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,057

$261 RON 1,242

354.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,514

$653 RON 3,102

332.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,796

$464 RON 2,203

335.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,973

$1,929 RON 9,170

306.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,183

$1,329 RON 6,315

253.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,501

$634 RON 3,015

165.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

7.18

-46.80%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Onesti: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Onesti

$261 25.1% 78% $926

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Onesti

$197 18.9% 28.2% $77

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Onesti

$179 17.2% 27% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Onesti

$202 19.4% 2.5% $5.2

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Onesti

$119 11.4% 29.2% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Onesti

$54 5.2% 15.7% $10

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Onesti

$31 2.9% 49.2% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,641 in Lisbon and $406 in Onesti. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $42 in Onesti for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $197 per month, with Onesti cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇷🇴 Onesti

🕒 Local time

01:49 1:49 AM

03:49 3:49 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

57,333

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Onesti 3,030 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Onesti

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Lisbon vs Onesti: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $1,042 in Onesti, so Onesti is about 53% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.7 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $406 in Onesti. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $389 in Onesti. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 39% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Onesti is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Lisbon and Onesti are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Onesti gentler on the wallet – expenses run 53% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.